Obituary: R. Tucker Winn

Alexandria  Tucker Winn, who was a Fairfax County Public School teacher for 25 years, died at Mount Vernon Hospital on June 23, 2012 of a stroke. She was 85 years old.

She was born in Wilsons, Va. (Dinwiddie County). Tucker Winn received her B.S. degree in chemistry from Longwood College in 1948. She was the class valedictorian. She worked briefly in private industry before turning to secondary education. She spent most of her career in Fairfax County, including stints at Fairfax High School, Woodson High School and Robinson Secondary School. She received her M.A. in education from George Washington University and then moved to George Mason University, in the Office of Admissions. S

he was one of the pioneers (early ‘60s) as a high school guidance counselor, making the transition from classroom teacher (chemistry) to guidance. Subsequent to her FCPS career, she opened her own business, College Consulting and Placement Service, in Old Town Alexandria. For more than 20 years, she had the special gift of being able to recommend the right college for a particular student. The college admissions officers knew her and trusted her judgment. It was her very real interest in people that made Tucker Winn such a memorable chemistry teacher — and such an effective guidance counselor. Her former students flocked to her, and maintained long-standing relationships with this daughter of the South, small in stature but large in personality and graciousness.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on July 11 at Demaine Funeral Home, Alexandria, with reception to follow at Belle Haven Country Club. Interment will be in Blackstone Va. (Lakeview Cemetery) on Thursday, July 12, at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Fisher House Foundation, Inc. 111 Rockville Pike, Suite 420, Rockville, MD 20850-5168.